Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi (Irro) speaks in Hargeisa on October 15, 2026, after returning from the United States and the United Arab Emirates, in a frame from a video the Somaliland Presidency posted on X. (Image: Somaliland Presidency, @MadaxtooyadaJSL on X)
Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi, known as Irro, said on Thursday that Somaliland opposes any interference that threatens Ethiopia's stability, as he criticized a new alliance of Egypt, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan.
He spoke at the presidential palace in Hargeisa to members of parliament, military commanders and senior officials after returning from visits to the United States and the United Arab Emirates, according to BBC Amharic and the Hargeisa newspaper Horn Diplomat. Somaliland Post reported that the trip lasted more than a month.
"We oppose any interference that endangers Ethiopia's stability and security," Irro said, according to BBC Amharic, which reported that he described Somaliland as having great confidence in its cooperation with its neighbor. The Somaliland Presidency posted the remark in Somali on X. In Mereja's translation, it reads: "Ethiopia is a neighboring country in whose cooperation we have great trust. We oppose interference and any act that could endanger its stability and the existence of its statehood."
In a second post, the presidency quoted him on the four-nation bloc: "We oppose the step against our statehood taken by the states led by Egypt that recently allied." Khaalid Foodhaadhi, a Somaliland journalist, wrote on X that Irro had condemned actions by the four-way alliance, "particularly those that undermine Somaliland's sovereignty," and that he had also said Somaliland would not accept interference in Ethiopia's internal affairs.
Irro also warned that "no decision concerning the region should be made without Somaliland's participation," BBC Amharic reported. He said Somaliland follows a policy of peace and good neighborliness, but that it would give "an appropriate response" to any country that tries to interfere in its internal affairs.
The leaders of Egypt, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan met about two weeks ago in the Egyptian coastal city of El Alamein and issued a joint statement backing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their members. BBC Amharic said the statement indirectly targeted Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia more than three decades ago, and that it ran against Ethiopia's development on the Nile and its effort to gain access to the sea. The Ethiopian Gov't rejected the four countries' position, saying the geographic and historical realities of the Nile and the Red Sea cannot be changed by political narratives or by force.
Somalia's deputy foreign minister, Hassan Mohamed Ali, later told the BBC that Somalia would take a "neutral" position on the tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
The speech followed diplomatic and military contacts between Somaliland and Ethiopia this week, Horn Diplomat reported. Somaliland Foreign Minister Abdirahman Dahir Adan Bakal told Sky News Arabia, in an interview reported on Monday, that Somaliland was ready to discuss Ethiopian access to its coastline and to the port of Berbera, the paper said. Ethiopian Ambassador Teshome Shunde separately met Bakal and Somaliland's army chief, Brigadier General Nimcan Yusuf Gahnuug, in Hargeisa. Statements from Somaliland's foreign ministry and military said the talks covered bilateral relations, defense cooperation and regional security.
Berbera was also on the agenda when Irro chaired the 77th session of his Council of Ministers on Thursday, according to the presidency. Finance Minister Abdilahi Hassan Aden told the cabinet that conflict in the Middle East had pushed up fuel prices, living costs, freight charges and ship insurance, which he said were weighing on trade, and he briefed ministers on efforts to expand services at the port of Berbera. Irro reported on his meetings in Washington and New York with U.S. officials, members of Congress, research centers and investors, and on development projects that he said the United Arab Emirates will carry out in Somaliland in health, education and economic infrastructure.
An account named AMB. HAGGOOGANE, whose bio describes a Somaliland ambassador at large and Horn of Africa political and security analyst, quoted Irro as saying, "Ethiopia is a strategic partner, and we will continue to standby them against those concocting unrest in the country," and called on Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government to formally recognize Somaliland. Dr Adali Warsame, who describes himself on X as an independent journalist, took a harsher view of Addis Ababa, writing that "Ethiopia right now is too weak & afraid to recognize Somaliland" and that "Somaliland has more of an independent foreign policy today than Ethiopia."
Israel recognized Somaliland last year, and U.S. President Donald Trump recently spoke in support of its statehood, BBC Amharic noted. The presidency also posted Irro's thanks to Trump on X.
On Thursday, Britain said in a statement, which Martin Plaut of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies shared on X on Friday, that it "opposes action by any party which breaches the border of its neighbouring states," and called urgently for de-escalation and a return to dialogue with support from the African Union. Ethiopia and Eritrea cut diplomatic ties completely more than two weeks ago, and the sign marking the Eritrean embassy in Addis Ababa was taken down last week, DW Amharic reported.
Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland two years ago that would have given it access to the sea, BBC Amharic recalled. Somalia called the deal a violation of its sovereignty and formed a joint arrangement with Eritrea and Egypt, until Turkish mediation settled the dispute between Addis Ababa and Mogadishu.
Sources
- BBC Amharic, Somaliland says it stands with Ethiopia against the Egypt-led alliance, October 16, 2026
- Horn Diplomat via allAfrica, Mohamed Duale, October 15, 2026
- Somaliland Post, October 15, 2026
- Somaliland Presidency on X, Irro on Ethiopia
- Somaliland Presidency on X, Irro on the Egypt-led alliance
- Somaliland Presidency on X, Irro thanks Trump
- Somaliland Presidency on X, speech video
- Somaliland Presidency on X, 77th cabinet session
- Khaalid Foodhaadhi on X
- AMB. HAGGOOGANE on X
- Dr Adali Warsame on X
- Martin Plaut on X, UK statement on Ethiopia and Eritrea
- GOV.UK, UK statement on escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, October 15, 2026
- DW Amharic, Ethiopia and Eritrea tension, October 15, 2026